


In Your Arms

by MoonlightBreeze



Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Immortal Husbands, Immortal Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Introspection, Light Angst, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane Needs A Hug, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Pandemonium Club (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Romantic Fluff, Songfic, Tags Are Hard, Tumblr Prompt, he definitely gets it, in the past tense though, no beta we die like men, they get their nice things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24486658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze
Summary: A night in Pandemonium with Alec leads to a decision by Magnus that will alter the course of their lives forever.Contains canon-typical self harm in the past tense, non-explicit.Songfic based on Incredible by James TW ~ requested by an anon on Tumblr!
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751983
Comments: 29
Kudos: 109





	In Your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! Two fics in one day, look at me go! This songfic is the next in my line of prompts and, of course, I couldn't resist making it a little bit angsty. The song is amazing, by the way - I definitely recommend listening to it while you read! I want it to be known that the immortal husbands bit was completely unplanned. The words have a way of doing whatever they want, but hey, it's immortal husbands, so I'm not complaining. Also, this is my first time writing a fic from Magnus's POV, so let me know how you think I did with that, if you want!
> 
> This was requested by an anon on Tumblr: _Hello! Song fic anon, again! Can I ask for another prompt to the song of “Incredible” by James TW?_
> 
> I really hope you like this! Kudos make my day and comments validate my existence, so please feel free to leave those, if you want :) And as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
> 
> ~ Em

The neon lights of Pandemonium turned Alec’s hair a multitude of different colours, and watching it was giving Magnus a headache. He turned his gaze, instead, to Alec’s bright blue eyes, which sparkled with happiness and mirth as he spun in Magnus’s arms for what was certainly not the first time that night. 

“Come on, Magnus!” Alec encouraged him, tripping over his own feet. Magnus felt a fond smile stretch across his face when Alec continued to dance, unperturbed by his own lack of coordination. It made Magnus want to kiss him senseless and hold him close to him because _of all people_ , Alec had chosen him. This perfect, beautiful, wonderful man had chosen _him_.

“What’s the matter, Mags?” Alec called over the roar of the music. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and a look of concern was slowly replacing the smile he wore seconds earlier. Magnus winced in apology. He must have been wearing his feelings too clearly on his face. 

“Nothing, darling,” Magnus replied, threading his hands through Alec’s dark black locks. “Just thinking about you.” He added a flirtatious wink to the end of his sentence; a wink that would have had his Shadowhunter blushing like mad only a few months ago. Now, it made Alec grin at him and raise an eyebrow in challenge. 

Magnus laughed and pressed his lips to Alec’s for a soft kiss. Alec returned it just as gently, sensing the shift in the atmosphere from fun and carefree to something a bit deeper. 

When they pulled away a few minutes later, both breathing hard, Magnus could swear he felt almost light inside with happiness. Alec beamed at him and Magnus resisted the urge to wrap Alec in a tight hug and stay there for the rest of the night. 

Some days, it was normal, commonplace; Alec and Magnus’s relationship was like a constant, familiar presence for Magnus. From their sleepy “Good morning”s to the way that they climbed into bed and held each other at the end of each day, it was the routines he had with Alec that kept Magnus sane; that comforted him and washed over him like the scent of a favourite food or the allure of a particularly wonderful book. 

Other days, though, it blew Magnus’s mind, how much Alec had changed in the span of a year or so. He wasn’t the same man he was when Magnus met him, but Magnus didn’t mind that. Alec’s change was for the better.

“Hey,” Alec’s voice cut into Magnus’s thoughts. “I’m going to go dance with Izzy for a minute, okay? Be back soon.” He gestured in the general direction of his sister, and Magnus nodded and released him from the embrace. 

Magnus watched as Alec made his way over to Izzy and began to clumsily dance to the 2000s pop song that played over the loudspeakers. He couldn’t help the fond grin that took over his features when he saw his husband dancing like no one was watching. Actually, Magnus thought to himself, he was dancing like he knew people were watching and he just didn’t _care_ , which was even better. 

Magnus thought back to the last time he and Alec had danced; it was during a date to a fancy upscale restaurant a few months after they’d been married. Magnus had expected Alec to complain and lament about his terrible dancing skills the entire time, but he’d been pleasantly surprised when it had been Alec who had dragged _him_ onto the dance floor. 

To his embarrassment, Magnus felt his eyes mist over as he thought about how far they’d both come. 

When Magnus met Alec, he was a bitter Shadowhunter so far in the closet he might as well have been in Narnia. He held his hands behind his back at all times, his posture rigid and straight; the perfect soldier the Clave wanted him to be. 

After Magnus met Alec, Magnus could see the small, hidden chinks in his Shadowhunter’s armour. The glances that he gave Jace, the not-so-platonic stares that he dedicated his entire sense of self towards trying to hide. The way his hands trembled and shook when someone held them but remained steady when he wielded his bow. The fact that, more often than not, the archer’s gloves he was meant to wear to protect his hands were nowhere to be found. 

In the flashing lights of the club, Magnus could almost make out the thin silvery scars that lined Alec’s hands. They were barely there, hardly noticeable in an everyday setting like the Downworld Cabinet meetings. Alec still stood with his hands behind his back most of the time; whether from an ingrained sense that he would always be a soldier, no matter how he’d changed, or to keep any prying eyes from finding out the true reason behind the marks, Magnus didn’t know. 

What Magnus did know was that, one night not so long ago, Alec had shown up on his fire escape, nursing a battered hand with cuts that looked awfully similar to the scars he sported now. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. 

Magnus had never mentioned it; no, he knew his Shadowhunter better than that. If he mentioned it, Alec would only become defensive and shut down. Well, maybe he wouldn’t now, but now, that didn’t matter. Alec hadn’t conveniently forgotten his archer’s gloves in months, and beating up training bags instead of turning to someone he loved was a thing of the past. 

Magnus couldn’t have been prouder. 

Seeing Alec so carefree, so unlike the frightened and closed off man Magnus had first met, made Magnus feel as though, for once in his life, everything might be okay. 

The thought of the runes hidden away in the Spiral Labyrinth tugged at Magnus’s mind, and he let out a heavy sigh. He and Alec had been talking about it. Just talking, not deciding anything yet. But Magnus could tell that Alec was eager to begin the process. Magnus was the one with reservations. 

When Catarina had approached him and told him of the information she’d gleaned from the Silent Brothers in exchange for a favour, he had been dumbfounded. After all, he’d been alive for many, many years and he’d _never_ heard of runes that could make a Shadowhunter immortal. He supposed there was good reason for that; they were locked up in the Spiral Labyrinth on just grounds, Magnus was sure, and Magnus knew that if anyone but his Alexander were to be interested in the runes, there was no way he would admit they even existed. 

But Alec was different.

Alec was fierce in his love for Magnus, more fierce than perhaps any of his previous lovers ever had been. Alec was loyal and unyielding and when he wanted something, there was absolutely nothing on the earth or beyond that could stop him from getting it. Magnus knew that.

So when Alec mentioned that Catarina had contacted him, as well, Magnus knew without him even having to say anything about it what Alec wanted.

Alec wanted to be immortal.

Alec wanted to be Magnus’s husband for the rest of time. 

It was a thought so mind-blowing, so _overwhelming_ that Magnus had trouble processing it. Alexander, who had been through so much. Alexander, who had fought for himself and his right to be happy with everything that he had and _won_. Alexander, who had rewrote the book and made history with his warlock boyfriend before his 25th birthday. 

His Alexander, his stunning, remarkable Alexander, wanted _Magnus_ for the rest of eternity and beyond. 

Magnus didn’t quite know how to process that.

Alec broke away from Izzy, giving her a quick hug that surely meant his sister was leaving Pandemonium for the night, and made his way back to Magnus. 

Magnus smiled brightly at him and reached to pull Alec into his arms the minute he was close enough. “Missed you,” he mumbled into Alec’s neck. Alec chuckled, the sound reverberating down his Adam’s apple and making Magnus’s heart warm with affection.

“I was gone for like five minutes, Mags.”

“Still missed you,” Magnus whined.

Alec huffed a laugh into the warlock’s spiky hair and replied, “Missed you, too.”

The faint sound of a record scratching could be heard over the din, and the next song that boomed through the loudspeakers was decidedly unlike Pandemonium. Alec pushed Magnus back just enough to peer suspiciously at him. 

“Did you…” he trailed off, gesticulating dramatically in an attempt to imitate Magnus doing magic. Magnus simply smiled and shook his head, amused at his husband’s antics. 

The first few lyrics began to fill the air, and as they did so, Magnus was surprised when they began to fill his heart, as well. 

_My god, it’s been awhile_

_Since the last time I saw you smile._

Magnus felt a pang in his chest as he was again vividly reminded of the Alec he had met a year ago, the Alec whose smiles, the rarity that they were, were almost exclusively for Magnus. Now, bathed in the flashing reds and yellows of his club, Magnus couldn’t help but think how _light_ Alec looked. Like his burden had been lifted and the shadows were gone from his eyes. Like he was finally happy. 

_Suddenly the room goes quiet, I’m lost in your eyes_

_It feels like we’re all alone, as the lights go on._

Magnus could feel Alec’s gaze on him, even if the darkness made it hard to see Alec’s face. His piercing blue eyes were something Magnus could find in the middle of a forest, though, and he wasn’t left to wonder for long if the song’s lyrics would ring true for them. 

Alec didn’t speak, staring into Magnus’s own chocolate brown orbs as the world continued on around them. Magnus felt like they were inside of a golden bubble; something special, something perfect and private that only they were privy to. 

It was a wonderful feeling.

_It’s getting late, wish we could stay like this forever_

_Dancing until both of our feet ache_

_My love, nothing can break these arms._

Magnus tugged Alec closer, and Alec sighed in contentment and tucked his neck against Magnus’s shoulder, allowing himself to be held close. Magnus felt another wave of emotion threaten to overtake him. This man, this _wonderful_ man, trusted Magnus to take care of him. He was vulnerable with Magnus in a way that he wasn’t with anyone else. 

Magnus felt his eyes fill with tears and he blinked them away before anyone could witness him having such an embarrassing reaction to a _song_.

_In your embrace, this crowded room doesn’t matter_

_But dancing like it’s our own stage_

_My love, I just want to say that you look incredible tonight._

“You look incredible tonight,” Magnus whispered next to Alec’s ear. He felt the shiver that ran down his husband’s spine, heard the shaky inhale he tried to hide. He knew Alec’s tells better than he himself knew them. 

“So do you,” Alec whispered back. 

Magnus pulled him even closer. 

The sounds of the club surrounding them seemed to dim and fade, leaving Magnus and Alec alone in their own little world. Alec hummed peacefully along to the song and pressed his face to Magnus’s neck in a gesture that made Magnus smile fondly and fight against the urge to cry once again. 

“Alec?” Magnus said into their silence. 

“Hmm?”

“You can become immortal,” Magnus said. “I...I have no problem with it.”

Alec pulled his head away from Magnus’s shoulder to look him in the eyes with that piercing, soul-searching stare of his. “Magnus, are you sure?”

Magnus nodded. “I’m sure. More sure than I’ve ever been about anything in my very long immortal life.”

Alec released a long breath and couldn’t stop the large grin that overtook his features. His eyes practically danced, and Magnus was left to wonder why the hell he hadn’t said yes sooner. Alec’s demeanour practically radiated how overjoyed he was to do this, to be with Magnus for the rest of forever. 

“We’ll go to the Spiral Labyrinth tomorrow with Catarina,” Magnus decided. “No sense wasting any more time.”

Alec nodded in agreement and pressed his lips firmly against Magnus’s to seal the deal. 

As the final notes of the song began to fade, Magnus couldn’t help the way he tugged Alec even closer to him, as though he was trying to meld their bodies together into one. 

_Staring into your navy eyes as we hold each other_

_Dancing through the night…_

_...It’s getting late, wish we could stay like this forever…_

_My love, nothing can break these arms._

As the song faded to silence, Magnus shuddered against Alec and finally let the tears he had been holding back all night fall. 

Later that night, when they were holding each other in bed and exchanging sleepy mumbles of love and nonsense, Magnus leaned forward to press a goodnight kiss to Alec’s lips, and found salty evidence that he was not the only one who had felt the way the stars had aligned and sang for them that night.

**Author's Note:**

> [Stalk me on Tumblr](http://moonlight-breeze-44.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Prompts are open!
> 
> Want to embrace your inner chaotic fandom participant? Require somewhere to scream about Shadowhunters and other fandoms? Need writing advice, encouragement, or new friends? [Join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/82pvdE39fD) and find your place in a community of fandom-ers livin' it up! We welcome everyone, and we would love to have you. <3


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